The Kaleidoscope

Doran’s question was a spark in a tinder-dry room. The conversation that followed was not one of open rebellion, but of a dawning, terrifying realization. They had defined themselves by their opposition to the Symphony, but they had never truly understood it. Their strategies were built to combat an enemy that mirrored their own aggression, their own desire for control. But the Symphony was not a mirror; it was a kaleidoscope, and its patterns were ones they could not predict, let alone counter. The unraveling had begun.